The British military launched airstrikes with the US targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels, officials said yesterday, their first attack in Washington’s new campaign targeting the Iran-backed group.
The UK offered a detailed explanation for launching the strike, in a departure from the US, which has offered few details about the more than 800 strikes it has conducted since beginning its campaign on March 15.
The campaign, called “Operation Rough Rider,” has been targeting the rebels as the administration of US President Donald Trump negotiates with their main benefactor, Iran, over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program.
Photo: Reuters
The British Ministry of Defence described the site attacked as “a cluster of buildings, used by the Houthis to manufacture drones of the type used to attack ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, located some 15 miles [25km] south of Sana’a.”
Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s took part in the raid, dropping Paveway IV guided bombs, the ministry said.
“The strike was conducted after dark, when the likelihood of any civilians being in the area was reduced yet further,” it added.
The ministry offered no information on the damage done in the strike, nor whether it believed anyone had been killed.
The US military’s Central Command did not acknowledge the strike.
“This action was taken in response to a persistent threat from the Houthis to freedom of navigation,” British Secretary of State for Defence John Healey said. “A 55 percent drop in shipping through the Red Sea has already cost billions, fueling regional instability and risking economic security for families in the UK.”
The Houthis reported several strikes around Yemen’s capital, Sana’a, which the group has held since 2014.
Other strikes hit near Sa’dah, the group said.
The strikes were the first with British involvement since Trump took office in January.
The US is conducting strikes on Yemen from its two aircraft carriers in the region — the USS Harry S. Truman in the Red Sea and the USS Carl Vinson in the Arabian Sea.
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